sleep deprivation in college students essay

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Why You Should Make a Good Night’s Sleep a Priority

Poor sleep habits and sleep deprivation are serious problems for most high school and college students. This guide offers important tips on how—and why—to improve your sleep hygiene.

The time you spend in high school and college can be both fun and rewarding. At the same time, these can be some of the busiest years of your life.

Balancing all the demands on your time—a full course load, extracurricular activities, and socializing with friends—can be challenging. And if you also work or have family commitments, it can feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. 

With so many competing priorities, sacrificing sleep may feel like the only way to get everything done. 

Despite the sleepiness you might feel the next day, one late night probably won’t have a major impact on your well-being. But regularly short-changing yourself on quality sleep can have serious implications for school, work, and your physical and mental health.

Alternatively, prioritizing a regular sleep schedule can make these years healthier, less stressful, and more successful long-term.

The sleep you need versus the sleep you get

According to the National Sleep Foundation , high school students (ages 14-17) need about eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. For young adults (ages 18 to 25), the range is need between seven and nine hours.

How do you know how much sleep you need within this range? 

According to Dr. Edward Pace-Schott, Harvard Summer School and Harvard Medical School faculty member and sleep expert, you can answer that question simply by observing how much you sleep when you don’t need to get up.

“When you’ve been on vacation for two weeks, how are you sleeping during that second week? How long are you sleeping? If you’re sleeping eight or nine hours when you don’t have any reason to get up, then chances are you need that amount or close to that amount of sleep,” says Pace-Schott. 

Most students, however, get far less sleep than the recommended amount. 

Seventy to 96 percent of college students get less than eight hours of sleep each week night. And over half of college students sleep less than seven hours per night. The numbers are similar for high school students; 73 percent of high school students get between seven and seven and a half hours of sleep .

Of course, many students attempt to catch up on lost sleep by sleeping late on the weekends. Unfortunately, this pattern is neither healthy nor a true long-term solution to sleep deprivation. 

And what about those students who say that they function perfectly well on just a couple hours of sleep?

“There are very few individuals who are so-called short sleepers, people who really don’t need more than six hours of sleep. But, there are a lot more people who claim to be short sleepers than there are real short sleepers,” says Pace-Schott.

Consequences of sleep deprivation

The consequences of sleep deprivation are fairly well established but may still be surprising.

For example, did you know that sleep deprivation can create the same level of cognitive impairment as drinking alcohol? 

According to the CDC , staying awake for 18 hours can have the same effect as a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05 percent. Staying awake for 24 hours can equate to a BAC of 0.10 percent (higher than the legal limit of 0.08 percent). 

And according to research by AAA , drowsy driving causes an average of 328,000 motor vehicle accidents each year in the US. Drivers who sleep less than five hours per night are more than five times as likely to have a crash as drivers who sleep for seven hours or more.  

Other signs of chronic sleep deprivation include:

• Daytime sleepiness and fatigue
• Irritability and short temper
• Mood changes
• Trouble coping with stress
• Difficulty focusing, concentrating, and remembering

Over the long term, chronic sleep deprivation can have a serious impact on your physical and mental health. Insufficient sleep has been linked, for example, to weight gain and obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

The impact on your mental health can be just as serious. Harvard Medical School has conducted numerous studies, including research by Pace-Schott, demonstrating a link between sleep deprivation and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.

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Importance of sleep for high school and college students

As difficult as it is to prioritize sleep, the advantages of going to bed early and getting quality sleep every night are very real.

College students who prioritize sleep are likely to see an improvement in their academic performance.

If you are well rested, you will experience less daytime sleepiness and fatigue. You may need less caffeine to stay awake during those long lectures. And you will also find you are more productive, more attentive to detail, and able to concentrate better while studying.

But the connection between sleep and academic performance goes well beyond concentration and attentiveness.

“Sleep is very important for consolidating memories. In any sort of experimental setting, study results show better performance if you learn material and then sleep on it, instead of remaining awake. So there’s lots and lots of evidence now indicating that sleep promotes memory strengthening and memory consolidation,” says Pace-Schott. 

There is also a strong connection between sleep quality and stress.

Students who prioritize sleep are better able to cope with the stress that comes with being an active student. 

“It’s a vicious circle where the more stressed you get, the less you sleep, and the less you sleep, the more stressed you get. And in the long term, that can lead to serious psychiatric problems,” says Pace-Schott.

In the worst case scenario, the combination of lack of sleep and stress can lead to mental health disorders such as depression, general anxiety disorder, and potentially even post-traumatic stress disorder.

But prioritizing sleep can create a positive feedback loop as well. 

Establishing a sleep schedule and adequate sleep duration can improve your ability to cope with stress. Being active and productive will help you get more done throughout the day, which also reduces feelings of stress.

And the less stressed you feel during the day, the better you will sleep at night. 

Tips for getting more sleep as a student

The key to getting a good night’s sleep is establishing healthy sleep habits, also known as sleep hygiene.

The first step is deciding to make sleep a priority. 

Staying ahead of coursework and avoiding distractions and procrastination while you study is key to avoiding the need for late night study sessions. And prioritizing sleep may mean leaving a party early or choosing your social engagements carefully. 

Yet the reward—feeling awake and alert the next morning—will reinforce that positive choice. 

The next step is establishing healthy bedtime and daytime patterns to promote good quality sleep.

Pace-Schott offers the following tips on steps you can take to create healthy sleep hygiene:

• Limit caffeine in close proximity to bed time. College students should also avoid alcohol intake, which disrupts quality sleep.
• Avoid electronic screens (phone, laptop, tablet, desktop) within an hour of bedtime. 
• Engage in daily physical exercise, but avoid intense exercise within two hours of bedtime.
• Establish a sleep schedule. Be as consistent as possible in your bedtime and rise time, and get exposure to morning sunlight.
• Establish a “wind-down” routine prior to bedtime.
• Limit use of bed for daily activities other than sleep (e.g., TV, work, eating)

Of course, college students living in dorms or other communal settings may find their sleep disturbed by circumstances beyond their control: a poor-quality mattress, inability to control the temperature of your bedroom, or noisy roommates, for example. 

But taking these active steps to promote healthy sleep will, barring these other uncontrollable circumstances, help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep, and get a more restorative sleep.

And for students who are still not convinced of the importance of sleep, Pace-Schott says that personal observation is the best way to see the impact of healthy sleep habits. 

“Keep a sleep diary for a week. Pay attention to your sleep in a structured way. And be sure to record how you felt during the day. This can really help you make the link between how you slept the night before and how you feel during the day. It’s amazing how much you will learn about your sleep and its impact on your life.” 

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College students: getting enough sleep is vital to academic success

WESTCHESTER , Ill. — With the semester drawing to a close, millions of college students are preparing to take their final exams. Unfortunately, research is increasingly showing that more and more students are not getting enough sleep, which can have a negative impact on their grades. Among the reasons for these changes in sleeping patterns are increased part-time working hours, pulling all-nighters to finish a paper or cram for an exam, and watching television at bedtime. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), the best way to maximize performance on final exams is to both study and get a good night of sleep.

Lawrence Epstein, MD, medical director of Sleep Health Centers in Brighton, Mass., an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, a past president of the AASM and a member of the AASM board of directors, says that sleep deprivation effects not only whether a student can stay awake in class but how they perform as well.

“Recent studies have shown that adequate sleep is essential to feeling awake and alert, maintaining good health and working at peak performance,” says Dr. Epstein. “After two weeks of sleeping six hours or less a night, students feel as bad and perform as poorly as someone who has gone without sleep for 48 hours. New research also highlights the importance of sleep in learning and memory. Students getting adequate amounts of sleep performed better on memory and motor tasks than did students deprived of sleep.”

Clete A. Kushida, MD, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University Medical Center, an attending physician at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic, director of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research and a member of the AASM board of directors, notes that the degree of daytime alertness is arguably the most sensitive measure as to how much sleep is necessary for the specific individual.

“If the individual is routinely tired or sleepy during the daytime, odds are that he or she is not getting enough sleep,” says Dr. Kushida. “To take it one step further, there are two primary factors that affect the degree of daytime alertness: sleep quantity and sleep quality. For the student-age population, sleep quantity and quality issues are both important. However, key factors affecting sleep quality, such as the major sleep disorders (e.g., obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome), are less prevalent in this age group compared to middle-aged or older individuals.”

Dr. Kushida adds that the importance of obtaining adequate sleep in the student-age population cannot be overemphasized.

“There are data that sleep loss leads to learning and memory impairment, as well as decreased attention and vigilance,” says Dr. Kushida. “In the student-age population, studies have found that factors such as self-reported shortened sleep time, erratic sleep/wake schedules, late bed and rise times, and poor sleep quality have been found to be negatively associated with school performance for adolescents from middle school through college. Thus, there is ample evidence to indicate that the lack of adequate nighttime sleep can lead to disturbances in brain function, which in turn, can lead to poor academic performance.”

Other recent studies outline the adverse effects of poor sleep among students with regards to their success in school:

• Sleepiness and poor sleep quality are prevalent among university students, affecting their academic performance and daytime functioning.
• Students with symptoms of sleep disorders are more likely to receive poor grades in classes such as math, reading and writing than peers without symptoms of sleep disorders.
• College students with insomnia have significantly more mental health problems than college students without insomnia.
• College students with medical-related majors are more likely to have poorer quality of sleep in comparison to those with a humanities major.
• College students who pull “all-nighters” are more likely to have a lower GPA.
• Students who stay up late on school nights and make up for it by sleeping late on weekends are more likely to perform poorly in the classroom. This is because, on weekends, they are waking up at a time that is later than their internal body clock expects. The fact that their clock must get used to a new routine may affect their ability to be awake early for school at the beginning of the week when they revert back to their new routine.

The following tips are provided by the AASM to help students learn how to get enough sleep:

Go to bed early

Students should go to bed early enough to have the opportunity for a full night of sleep. Adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

Get out of bed

If you have trouble falling asleep, get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy.

Stay out of bed

Don’t study, read, watch TV or talk on the phone in bed. Only use your bed for sleep.

If you take a nap, then keep it brief. Nap for less than an hour and before 3 p.m.

Wake up on the weekend

It is best to go to bed and wake up at the same times on the weekend as you do during the schoolweek. If you missed out on a lot of sleep during the week, then you can try to catch up on the weekend. But sleeping in later on Saturdays and Sundays will make it very hard for you to wake up for classes on Monday morning.

Avoid caffeine

Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and at night. It stays in your system for hours and can make it hard for you to fall asleep.

Adjust the lights

Dim the lights in the evening and at night so your body knows it will soon be time to sleep. Let in the sunlight in the morning to boost your alertness.

Take some time to “wind down” before going to bed. Get away from the computer, turn off the TV and the cell phone, and relax quietly for 15 to 30 minutes.

Eat a little

Never eat a large meal right before bedtime. Enjoy a healthy snack or light dessert so you don’t go to bed hungry.

Those who believe they have a sleep disorder should consult with their primary care physician or a sleep specialist.

Sleep Education , a patient education website created by the AASM, provides information about various sleep disorders, the forms of treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.

AASM is a professional membership organization dedicated to the advancement of sleep medicine and sleep-related research.

To arrange an interview with an AASM spokesperson, please contact [email protected] .

Updated Nov. 6, 2017

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• Published: 01 October 2019

Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students

• Kana Okano 1 ,
• Jakub R. Kaczmarzyk 1 ,
• Neha Dave 2 ,
• John D. E. Gabrieli 1 &
• Jeffrey C. Grossman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1281-2359 3  

npj Science of Learning volume  4 , Article number:  16 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

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Although numerous survey studies have reported connections between sleep and cognitive function, there remains a lack of quantitative data using objective measures to directly assess the association between sleep and academic performance. In this study, wearable activity trackers were distributed to 100 students in an introductory college chemistry class (88 of whom completed the study), allowing for multiple sleep measures to be correlated with in-class performance on quizzes and midterm examinations. Overall, better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep correlated with better grades. However, there was no relation between sleep measures on the single night before a test and test performance; instead, sleep duration and quality for the month and the week before a test correlated with better grades. Sleep measures accounted for nearly 25% of the variance in academic performance. These findings provide quantitative, objective evidence that better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep are strongly associated with better academic performance in college. Gender differences are discussed.

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Introduction.

The relationship between sleep and cognitive function has been a topic of interest for over a century. Well-controlled sleep studies conducted with healthy adults have shown that better sleep is associated with a myriad of superior cognitive functions, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 including better learning and memory. 7 , 8 These effects have been found to extend beyond the laboratory setting such that self-reported sleep measures from students in the comfort of their own homes have also been found to be associated with academic performance. 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13

Sleep is thought to play a crucial and specific role in memory consolidation. Although the exact mechanisms behind the relationship between sleep, memory, and neuro-plasticity are yet unknown, the general understanding is that specific synaptic connections that were active during awake-periods are strengthened during sleep, allowing for the consolidation of memory, and synaptic connections that were inactive are weakened. 5 , 14 , 15 Thus, sleep provides an essential function for memory consolidation (allowing us to remember what has been studied), which in turn is critical for successful academic performance.

Beyond the effects of sleep on memory consolidation, lack of sleep has been linked to poor attention and cognition. Well-controlled sleep deprivation studies have shown that lack of sleep not only increases fatigue and sleepiness but also worsens cognitive performance. 2 , 3 , 16 , 17 In fact, the cognitive performance of an individual who has been awake for 17 h is equivalent to that exhibited by one who has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%. 1 Outside of a laboratory setting, studies examining sleep in the comfort of peoples’ own homes via self-report surveys have found that persistently poor sleepers experience significantly more daytime difficulties in regards to fatigue, sleepiness, and poor cognition compared with persistently good sleepers. 18

Generally, sleep is associated with academic performance in school. Sleep deficit has been associated with lack of concentration and attention during class. 19 While a few studies report null effects, 20 , 21 most studies looking at the effects of sleep quality and duration on academic performance have linked longer and better-quality sleep with better academic performance such as school grades and study effort. 4 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 Similarly, sleep inconsistency plays a part in academic performance. Sleep inconsistency (sometimes called “social jet lag”) is defined by inconsistency in sleep schedule and/or duration from day to day. It is typically seen in the form of sleep debt during weekdays followed by oversleep on weekends. Sleep inconsistency tends to be greatest in adolescents and young adults who stay up late but are constrained by strict morning schedules. Adolescents who experience greater sleep inconsistency perform worse in school. 28 , 29 , 30 , 31

Although numerous studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and students’ academic performance, these studies utilized subjective measures of sleep duration and/or quality, typically in the form of self-report surveys; very few to date have used objective measures to quantify sleep duration and quality in students. One exception is a pair of linked studies that examined short-term benefits of sleep on academic performance in college. Students were incentivized with offers of extra credit if they averaged eight or more hours of sleep during final exams week in a psychology class 32 or five days leading up to the completion of a graphics studio final assignment. 33 Students who averaged eight or more hours of sleep, as measured by a wearable activity tracker, performed significantly better on their final psychology exams than students who chose not to participate or who slept less than eight hours. In contrast, for the graphics studio final assignments no difference was found in performance between students who averaged eight or more hours of sleep and those who did not get as much sleep, although sleep consistency in that case was found to be a factor.

Our aim in this study was to explore how sleep affects university students’ academic performance by objectively and ecologically tracking their sleep throughout an entire semester using Fitbit—a wearable activity tracker. Fitbit uses a combination of the wearer’s movement and heart-rate patterns to estimate the duration and quality of sleep. For instance, to determine sleep duration, the device measures the time in which the wearer has not moved, in combination with signature sleep movements such as rolling over. To determine sleep quality, the Fitbit device measures the wearer’s heart-rate variability which fluctuates during transitions between different stages of sleep. Although the specific algorithms that calculate these values are proprietary to Fitbit, they have been found to accurately estimate sleep duration and quality in normal adult sleepers without the use of research-grade sleep staging equipment. 34 By collecting quantitative sleep data over the course of the semester on nearly 100 students, we aimed to relate objective measures of sleep duration, quality, and consistency to academic performance from test to test and overall in the context of a real, large university college course.

A secondary aim was to understand gender differences in sleep and academic performance. Women outperform men in collegiate academic performance in most subjects 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 and even in online college courses. 39 Most of the research conducted to understand this female advantage in school grades has examined gender differences in self-discipline, 40 , 41 , 42 and none to date have considered gender differences in sleep as a mediating factor on school grades. There are inconsistencies in the literature on gender differences in sleep in young adults. While some studies report that females get more quantity 43 but worse quality sleep compared with males, 43 , 44 other studies report that females get better quality sleep. 45 , 46 In the current study, we aim to see whether we would observe a female advantage in grades and clarify how sleep contributes to gender differences.

Bedtime and wake-up times

On average, students went to bed at 1:54 a.m. (Median = 1:47 a.m., Standard Deviation (SD) of all bedtime samples = 2 h 11 min, SD of mean bedtime per participant = 1 h) and woke up at 9:17 a.m. (Median = 9:12 a.m., SD of all wake-up time samples = 2 h 2 min; SD of mean wake-up time per participant = 54 min). The data were confirmed to have Gaussian distribution using the Shapiro–Wilks normality test. We conducted an ANOVA with the overall score (sum of all grade-relevant quizzes and exams—see “Procedure”) as the dependent variable and bedtime (before or after median) and wake-up time (before or after median) as the independent variables. We found a main effect of bedtime ( F (1, 82) = 6.45, p  = 0.01), such that participants who went to bed before median bedtime had significantly higher overall score ( X  = 77.25%, SD = 13.71%) compared with participants who went to bed after median bedtime ( X  = 70.68%, SD = 11.01%). We also found a main effect of wake-up time ( F (1, 82) = 6.43, p  = 0.01), such that participants who woke up before median wake-up time had significantly higher overall score ( X  = 78.28%, SD = 9.33%) compared with participants who woke up after median wake-up time ( X  = 69.63%, SD = 14.38%), but found no interaction between bedtime and wake-up time ( F (1, 82) = 0.66, p  = 0.42).

A Pearson’s product-moment correlation between average bedtime and overall score revealed a significant and negative correlation ( r (86) = −0.45, p  < 0.0001), such that earlier average bedtime was associated with a higher overall score. There was a significant and negative correlation between average wake-up time and overall score ( r (86) = −0.35, p  < 0.001), such that earlier average wake-up time was associated with a higher overall score. There was also a significant and positive correlation between average bedtime and average wake-up time (r (86) = 0.68, p  < 0.0001), such that students who went to bed earlier tended to also wake up earlier.

Sleep duration, quality, and consistency in relation to academic performance

Overall, the mean duration of sleep for participants throughout the entire semester was 7 h 8 min (SD of all sleep samples = 1 h 48 min, SD of mean sleep duration per participant = 41 min). There was a significant positive correlation between mean sleep duration throughout the semester (sleep duration) and overall score ( r (86) = 0.38, p  < 0.0005), indicating that a greater amount of sleep was associated with a higher overall score (Fig. 1a ). Similarly, there was a significant positive correlation between mean sleep quality throughout the semester (Sleep Quality) and Overall Score ( r (86) = 0.44, p  < 0.00005). Sleep inconsistency was defined for each participant as the standard deviation of the participant’s daily sleep duration in minutes so that a larger standard deviation indicated greater sleep inconsistency. There was a significant negative correlation between sleep inconsistency and overall score ( r (86) = −0.36, p   <  0.001), indicating that the greater inconsistency in sleep duration was associated with a lower overall score (Fig. 1b ).

Correlations between sleep measures and overall score. a Average daily hours slept (sleep duration) vs. overall score for the semester. b Standard deviation of average daily hours of sleep (sleep inconsistency) vs. overall score in class

Timing of sleep and its relation to academic performance

To understand sleep and its potential role in memory consolidation, we examined the timing of sleep as it related to specific assessments. All Pearson correlations with three or more comparisons were corrected for multiple comparisons using false discovery rate. 47

Night before assessments

We conducted a correlation between sleep quality the night before a midterm and respective midterm scores as well as sleep duration the night before a midterm and respective scores. There were no significant correlations with sleep duration or sleep quality for all three midterms (all r s < 0.20, all p s > 0.05). Similar analyses for sleep duration and sleep quality the night before respective quizzes revealed no correlations ( r s from 0.01 to 0.26, all p s > 0.05).

Week and month leading up to assessments

To understand the effect of sleep across the time period while course content was learned for an assessment, we examined average sleep measures during the 1 month leading up to the midterms. We found a significant positive correlation between average sleep duration over the month leading up to scores on each midterm ( r s from 0.25 to 0.34, all p s < 0.02). Similar analyses for average sleep duration over one week leading up to respective quizzes were largely consistent with those of midterms, with significant correlations on 3 of 8 quizzes (rs from 0.3 to 0.4, all p s < 0.05) and marginal correlations on an additional 3 quizzes (rs from 0.25 to 0.27, all p s < 0.08).

There was a significant and positive correlation between sleep quality scores averaged over the month leading up to each midterm for all three midterms ( r s from 0.21 to 0.38, all p s < 0.05). Similar analyses for average Sleep Quality over one week leading up to respective quizzes revealed a significant correlation on 1 of 8 quizzes ( r (86) = 0.42, p  < 0.005) and marginal correlations on 3 quizzes ( r s from 0.25 to 0.27, all p s < 0.08).

Variance of assessment performance accounted for by sleep measures

In order to calculate how much of the variance on assessment performance was accounted for by the sleep measures, we conducted a stepwise regression on overall score using three regressors: sleep duration, sleep quality, and sleep inconsistency. The relative importance of each variable was calculated using the relaimpo package in R 48 to understand individual regressor’s contribution to the model, which is not always clear from the breakdown of model R 2 when regressors are correlated. We found a significant regression ( F (3,84) = 8.95, p  = .00003), with an R 2 of 0.24. Students’ predicted overall score was equal to 77.48 + 0.21 (sleep duration) + 19.59 (Sleep Quality) – 0.45 (sleep inconsistency). While sleep inconsistency was the only significant individual predictor of overall score ( p  = 0.03) in this analysis, we found that 24.44% of variance was explained by the three regressors. The relative importance of these metrics were 7.16% sleep duration, 9.68% sleep quality, and 7.6% sleep inconsistency.

Gender differences

Females had better Sleep Quality ( t (88) = 2.63, p  = 0.01), and less sleep inconsistency ( t (88) = 2.18, p  = 0.03) throughout the semester compared with males, but the two groups experienced no significant difference in sleep duration ( t (88) = 1.03, p  = 0.3). Sleep duration and sleep quality were significantly correlated in both males ( r (41) = 0.85, p  < 0.00001) and females ( r (43) = 0.64, p  < 0.00001), but this correlation was stronger in males ( Z  = −2.25, p  = 0.02) suggesting that it may be more important for males to get a long-duration sleep in order to get good quality sleep. In addition, sleep inconsistency and sleep quality were significantly negatively correlated in males ( r (41) = −0.51, p  = 0.0005) but not in females ( r (43) = 0.29, p  > 0.05), suggesting that it may be more important for males to stick to a regular daily sleep schedule in order to get good quality sleep.

Females scored higher on overall score compared with males ( t (88) = −2.48, p  = 0.01), but a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that females and males did not perform significantly different on overall score when controlling for Sleep Quality, F (1, 85) = 2.22, p  = 0.14. Sleep inconsistency and overall score were negatively correlated in males ( r (41) = −0.44, p  = 0.003) but not in females ( r (43) = −0.13, p  = 0.39), suggesting that it is important for males to stick to a regular sleep schedule in order to perform well in academic performance but less so for females. No other gender differences were detected between other sleep measures and overall score.

This study found that longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, and greater sleep consistency were associated with better academic performance. A multiple linear regression revealed that these three sleep measures accounted for 24.44% of the variance in overall grade performance. Thus, there was a substantial association between sleep and academic performance. The present results correlating overall sleep quality and duration with academic performance are well aligned with previous studies 6 , 11 , 12 , 24 , 25 on the role of sleep on cognitive performance. Similarly, this study compliments the two linked studies that found longer sleep duration during the week before final exams 47 and consistent sleep duration five days prior to a final assignment 48 enhanced students’ performance. The present study, however, significantly extends our understanding of the relation between sleep and academic performance by use of multiple objective measures of sleep throughout an entire semester and academic assessments completed along the way.

The present study also provides new insights about the timing of the relation between sleep and academic performance. Unlike a prior study, 23 we did not find that sleep duration the night before an exam was associated with better test performance. Instead we found that both longer sleep duration and better sleep quality over the full month before a midterm were more associated with better test performance. Rather than the night before a quiz or exam, it may be more important to sleep well for the duration of the time when the topics tested were taught. The implications of these findings are that, at least in the context of an academic assessment, the role of sleep is crucial during the time the content itself is learned, and simply getting good sleep the night before may not be as helpful. The outcome that better “content-relevant sleep” leads to improved performance is supported by previous controlled studies on the role of sleep in memory consolidation. 14 , 15

Consistent with some previous research 45 , 46 female students tended to experience better quality sleep and with more consistency than male students. In addition, we found that males required a longer and more regular daily sleep schedule in order to get good quality sleep. This female advantage in academic performance was eliminated once sleep patterns were statistically equated, suggesting that it may be especially important to encourage better sleep habits in male students (although such habits may be helpful for all students).

Several limitations of the present study may be noted. First, the sleep quality measures were made with proprietary algorithms. There is an evidence that the use of cardiac, respiratory, and movement information from Fitbit devices can accurately estimate sleep stages, 32 but there is no published evidence that Fitbit’s 1~10 sleep quality scores represent a valid assessment of sleep quality. Second, the relation between sleep and academic performance may be moderated by factors that can affect sleep, such as stress, anxiety, motivation, personality traits, and gender roles. Establishing a causal relation between sleep and academic performance will require experimental manipulations in randomized controlled trials, but these will be challenging to conduct in the context of real education in which students care about their grades. Third, these findings occurred for a particular student population at MIT enrolled in a particular course, and future studies will need to examine the generalizability of these findings to other types of student populations and other kinds of classes.

In sum, this study provides evidence for a strong relation between sleep and academic performance using a quantifiable and objective measures of sleep quality, duration, and consistency in the ecological context of a live classroom. Sleep quality, duration, and consistency together accounted for a substantial amount (about a quarter) of the overall variance in academic performance.

Participants

One hundred volunteers (47 females) were selected from a subset of students who volunteered among 370 students enrolled in Introduction to Solid State Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to participate in the study. Participants were informed of the study and gave written consent obtained in accordance with the guidelines of and approved by the MIT Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects. Due to limitations in funding, we only had access to 100 Fitbit devices and could not enroll all students who volunteered; consequently, the first 100 participants to volunteer were selected. All participants were gifted a wearable activity tracker at the completion of the study in exchange for their participation. Seven participants were excluded from analysis because they failed to wear their activity tracker for more than 80% of the semester, three participants were excluded because they lost their wearable activity tracker, and another two participants were excluded because they completed less than 75% of the assessments in the class. Of the 88 participants who completed the study (45 females), 85 were freshmen, one was a junior and two were seniors (mean age = 18.19 years).

The Solid State Chemistry class is a single-semester class offered in the fall semester and geared toward freshmen students to satisfy MIT’s general chemistry requirement. The class consisted of weekly lectures by the professor and two weekly recitations led by 12 different teaching assistants (TAs). Each student was assigned to a specific recitation section that fit their schedule and was not allowed to attend other sections; therefore, each student had the same TA throughout the semester. Students took (1) weekly quizzes that tested knowledge on the content covered the week leading up to the quiz date, (2) three midterms that tested knowledge on the content covered in the 3–4 weeks leading up to the exam date, and (3) a final exam that tested content covered throughout the semester. Based on a one-way between subjects’ analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the effect of teaching assistants (TAs) on overall grade, we found no significant differences in overall grade across the TAs (F (10, 77) = 1.82, p  = 0.07. (One TA was removed from the analysis because he only had one student who was participating in this study).

Participants were asked to wear an activity tracker for the entire duration of the semester without going below 80% usage each week. If 80% or more usage was not maintained, warning emails were sent at the end of that respective week. Participants were asked to return the device if they dipped below 80% usage more than three out of the 14 weeks of the semester. The average usage rate at the end of the semester for the 88 participants who completed the study was 89.4% (SD = 5.5%). The missing data appeared to be at random and were deleted prior to data analysis. As part of a separate research question, 22 of the 88 participants joined an intense cardiovascular exercise class for which they received separate physical education credit. These students performed similarly to the other 67 participants in terms of final class grade ( t (88) = 1.57, p  = 0.12), exercise amount (total amount of moderately and very active minutes on the wearable device) (t (88) = 0.59, p  = 0.56), sleep amount ( t (88) = 0.3, p  = 0.77), and sleep quality ( t (88) = 0.14, p  = 0.9), so they were included in all of the analyses.

Participants’ activities were tracked using a Fitbit Charge HR. Data from the device were recorded as follows: heart rate every 5 min; steps taken, distance traveled, floors climbed, calories burned and activity level measurements every 15 min; resting heart rate daily; and sleep duration and quality for every instance of sleep throughout the day. Sleep quality was determined using Fitbit’s proprietary algorithm that produces a value from 0 (poor quality) to 10 (good quality).

Assessments

Nine quizzes, three midterm examinations, and one final examination were administered throughout the 14-week class to assess the students’ academic achievement. The students’ cumulative class grade was made up of 25% for all nine quizzes (lowest quiz grade was dropped from the average), 15% for each midterm exam, and 30% for the final exam for a total of 100%.

At MIT, freshmen are graded on a Pass or No Record basis in all classes taken during their first semester. Therefore, all freshmen in this class needed a C- level or better (≥50%, no grading on a curve) to pass the class. A failing grade (a D or F grade) did not go on their academic record. All upperclassmen were given letter grades; A (≥85%), B (70–84%), C (50–69%), D (45–49%), F (≤44%). Because a large portion of the class had already effectively “passed” the class before taking Quiz 9 and the final exam, we excluded these two assessments from our analyses due to concerns about students’ motivation to perform their best. We calculated for each student an overall score defined as the sum of the eight quizzes and three midterms to summarize academic performance in the course.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Code availability

No custom codes were used in the analysis of this study

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Horace A. Lubin Fund in the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering to J.C.G. and funding from MIT Integrated Learning Initiative to K.O. and J.R.K. The authors are grateful for many useful discussions with Carrie Moore and Matthew Breen at the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation at MIT.

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K.O. and J.C.G. conceived, designed, supervised, and analyzed the project. J.K. and N.D. helped analyze the data. The manuscript was written by K.O., J.D.E.G., and J.C.G.

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Okano, K., Kaczmarzyk, J.R., Dave, N. et al. Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students. npj Sci. Learn. 4 , 16 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-019-0055-z

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The less college students sleep, the worse their grades, study finds

Every lost hour of average nightly sleep at the start of an academic term predicted a 0.07-point drop in a student’s GPA

There are countless reasons to stay up late in college. Here’s one good reason to go to bed.

The less a student sleeps every night, the lower their grade-point average will be, according to a two-year study of the sleep habits of more than 600 college freshmen that was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers found that every lost hour of average nightly sleep at the start of an academic term was associated with a 0.07-point drop in a student’s end-of-term GPA. When a student slept less than six hours a night, the effect of lost sleep on a student’s grades was even more pronounced, said David Creswell, the lead author of the study and a professor in psychology and neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University.

“You’re accumulating this sleep debt ,” Creswell said. “And that has a pretty negative role in terms of people’s academics.”

Sleep, especially undisturbed sleep, helps the brain process and retain information it has learned. And when someone is sleep-deprived, attention span and memory also are impaired .

But students have a number of “competing pressures” to stay up late in college, especially in their freshman year, which is often the first time students are living away from home, Creswell said. The average student in the study fell asleep about 2:30 a.m. Barely any of the students went to bed before midnight. And, on average, they slept 6½ hours a night.

Just one hour of extra sleep each night can lead to better eating habits

Sleep recommendations vary

Sleep recommendations shift by age, and the amount of sleep an individual actually needs can vary person to person. In general, for teenagers, the recommendation is eight to 10 hours of sleep. For those 18 to 25 years old, it drops to seven to nine hours.

Creswell said he doesn’t want to “lecture” students about the findings but, according to the research, it appears that getting enough shut-eye does boost a student’s GPA.

“A lot of students say, ‘I should just stay up a lot later and study a lot longer,’ ” Creswell said. “Well, what we’re showing here is that sleep may be your friend, in terms of helping consolidate this information.”

Creswell and the team of researchers conducted five studies, recruiting college freshmen taking courses in a range of majors at Carnegie Mellon, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Washington. To monitor sleep, the students wore either a Fitbit Flex or a Fitbit HR for the entire academic term, a spring semester or a winter quarter, depending on the school, Creswell said.

Creswell said they avoided studying students’ sleep habits around final exams and term papers because they assumed that the average student’s sleep would just continue to drop off.

“We really wanted to look at this critical period in the semester where you’re starting to establish sleep patterns,” Creswell said. “Because once you start to hit midterm and finals period, you’re sort of too late in the game for actually doing effective intervention.”

After controlling for other factors — such as whether a student takes naps, their number of class credits and their GPA the previous term — the researchers found that average nightly sleep continued to predict a student’s end-of-term GPA. What time a student went to bed and whether their bedtime varied day to day did not seem to play a role, Creswell said.

A similar study of 100 engineering students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published in 2019 found the same association between a student’s grades and the amount of sleep they were getting. That study also showed it was tough to make up for bad sleep habits. There was no improvement in scores among students who made sure to get a good night’s sleep right before a big test.

Insufficient sleep may create ‘sleep debt’

It’s not clear why less sleep would cause someone to have a lower GPA, Creswell said. Sleeping for longer, uninterrupted periods of time allows for REM sleep, a period of unconscious rapid eye movement that corresponds with high activity in the brain. Creswell said he suspects a regular pattern of insufficient sleep creates a “sleep debt” over time, leaving students unable to concentrate.

“These college students are going to class with a ton of sleep debt, and they’re having trouble staying focused and learning in college classrooms,” Creswell said. “Those things can really harm your ability to really engage with the material.”

Aric Prather, a psychologist at the University of California at San Francisco, and author of the book, “ The Sleep Prescription ,” said the findings could inform systemic changes at universities, campaigns or workshops to help students have a better night’s sleep.

“There are multiple pathways to get to a GPA, and sleep is like the glue that holds our lives together in lots of domains,” Prather said. “When that whittles away, or is less sticky, bad things happen.”

Grace Pilch, an 18-year-old freshman who lives in a dorm at Pennsylvania State University, said she needs to get at least eight hours of sleep to function in class and during workouts at the gym.

“I can always tell if I didn’t get enough sleep,” Pilch said.

Pilch, who’s majoring in graphic design, said she cares more about getting enough sleep in college than she did in high school because “the classes are expensive,” and she wants to do well. Pilch said she has around a 3.8 GPA so far. And she and her roommate are in bed by 11 p.m. during the week.

“But I do go out with my friends,” Pilch said. “Sleep is important, grades are important, but it’s also important to make connections.”

3 ways to stop waking up frequently during the night and improve sleep

Academic success early on in college has been shown to predict whether students stay in school or drop out years later, and campus programs to address sleep habits could help freshmen during a “critical period” in school, Creswell said.

“We could really teach them, in that first year of college, better sleep patterns that could help them with their academic achievement,” Creswell said.

At the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, 200 students and staff members have enrolled in a seven-week online course on building better sleep habits. Rebecca Huxta, the director of public health and wellness at the university, said that since starting the program, participants have reported an overall decrease in symptoms of insomnia.

Roxanne Prichard, a professor of psychology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., said that she finds students “have been exhausted since puberty,” and they’ve “grown accustomed” to always feeling lethargic.

“Fundamentally, it comes down to: If we’re not sleeping well, all systems are not a go,” Prichard said. “Our body is not prepared for the day ahead of us and what we’re asking it to do if we don’t have that good, basic chunk of nighttime sleep.”

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Sleep Deprivation Impacts on College Students Essay

“How sleep deprivation affects psychological variables related to college students’ cognitive performance,” is a Journal of American College Health (J AM COLL HEALTH) written by Pilcher JJ and Walters AS. In this article, the authors attempt to bring out a case study regarding how deprivation of sleep can affect human nature’s cognitive performance by utilizing the psychological variables related to students.

As a matter of fact, it should be noted that the authors hypothesize that sleep deprivation is such a common occurrence amongst most of the college students whose sleeping patterns are comprised of partial deprivation of sleep on certain occasions during the week, as well as, compensation patterns in which the student strive to oversleep during the weekends.

There are three questions that this study attempted to address. The first is, “does sleep loss lead to changes in self-reported levels of psychological variables related to actual performance?” Because tendencies to deprive an individual of sleep often results into increased feelings of sleep and fatigue, the authors of the article expected individuals who are sleep-deprived to record low levels of concentration, estimated performance, effort, and high levels regarding off-task recognitions.

This would be based on the ability to accurately make assessments regarding the psychological variables. Secondly, the study aimed at determining whether sleep deprivation has the power to cause significant alteration in the mood states which may have relations to the performance of an individual. In this regard, this study expected that the participants in the study would record instances of fatigue, tension, confusion, as well as, decreased vigor.

The third question in the study was related to ways of determining how sleep deprivation tend to alter the ability of people to make accurate assessments regarding particular issues, estimated performance, and effort. Various research procedures were carried out in this instance. It was expected that the individual’s decision making processes would change based on the fact that they were deprived of sleep.

This article presents various variables in the case study as demonstrated by the authors. The first is cognitive performance. This refers to a type of operation which utilizes the mental ability of an individual. Second is psychological variables. This refers to the type of variables that are related to the psychological functionality of a person (students).

Self-reports are the third variable that has been utilized by the authors of this article in their study. This refers to the individual records, highlighting the procedural performances from the students, which were taken through the case study project. The last significant variable that has been adequately used by the authors of this article is sleep deprivation.

This refers to a systematic or deliberate, infliction of torture characterized by depriving an individual of enough sleep. The sample population used in this study included 44 college students. The individual participants were expected to complete “Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal.” This was to be done either after 8 hours of sleep or 24 hours of the instance of sleep deprivation.

Upon completion of the cognitive tasks required, the participants were expected to assist in completing two questionnaires. The first was meant to assess self-reported effort, estimated performance and effort. The second was meant to assess off-task cognitions.

The results of the research indicated a poor performance amongst the participants who were sleep-deprived as compared to the ones whose sleep patterns were unaffected in terms of cognitive task performances. However, it was observed that the participants who were sleep-deprived recorded higher rates in their efforts and concentrations compared to the participants who were non-deprived of sleep.

Additional observations also indicated that the estimated performance of sleep-deprived participants was higher compared to the non-deprived participants. As a result, the authors, basically concluded that the college administration of most educational institutions are immensely unaware about the extent of damage that sleep deprivation could have on students’ ability of completion of cognitive tasks.

In terms analysis of this work, the authors of the article have done exceptionally well in terms of collection of the relevant materials that were needed for the successful completion of the study. The layout of the research suggests that the authors thoroughly did their research. Precisely, the demonstration of proper literature and calculation of the figures in the research article suggest that this was well researched and presented.

The use of logical argumentation in terms of description of the methodology also increases the credibility of this research. It is necessary to note that the authors of this article have done extensively well to boost the confidence of the readers by the use of clear facts and figures which are verifiable. As a result, the readers have been given a chance to prove the accuracy of the study.

However, in as much as the approach, display and presentation of this research have been done well, the authors’ research is limited in terms of scope. This research covers only 44 participants from one region. Logically, this is a small population distribution to base conclusions upon. The accuracy of the deductions derived from this study would, therefore, be questioned.

In terms of applicability of the research, this study was helpful in terms of provision of useful information which has boosted the knowledge base in this field of study. This study was mainly targeting the administration of educational institutions.

The authors of the article had the intention of presenting documentary evidence of research that shows that the sleep patterns of the students are relevant and significant in terms of determining the effectiveness and overall performance of the students.

As a result, this research was intended to help in convincing the educational managers and administrators to revise the curriculum and provide a more dynamic one which would ensure that the student gets adequate time for sleep. Also, this research applies to students pursuing different courses in academic institutions in that it provides useful information that can help respective students of different institutions to plan their study schedules.

The information provided in the research would help the students to plan their activities well to ensure that their sense of effectiveness in the study and overall performance are highly maintained. Additional research in this field should involve the use of diverse categories of students to determine the effects that sleep deprivation would have on them.

This would comprise of high school, middle-level College, and university students. Diversity into this line of research would provide more reliable and accurate information.

Works Cited

Pilcher, JJ, and Walters AS. How sleep deprivation affects psychological variables related to college students’ cognitive performance. Journal of American College Health (J AM COLL HEALTH) , 1997 Nov; 46(3): 121-6

• Chicago (A-D)
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IvyPanda. (2020, March 14). Sleep Deprivation Impacts on College Students. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sleep-deprivation-impacts-on-college-students/

"Sleep Deprivation Impacts on College Students." IvyPanda , 14 Mar. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/sleep-deprivation-impacts-on-college-students/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Sleep Deprivation Impacts on College Students'. 14 March.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Sleep Deprivation Impacts on College Students." March 14, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sleep-deprivation-impacts-on-college-students/.

1. IvyPanda . "Sleep Deprivation Impacts on College Students." March 14, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sleep-deprivation-impacts-on-college-students/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Sleep Deprivation Impacts on College Students." March 14, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/sleep-deprivation-impacts-on-college-students/.

• Sleep Deprivation: Biopsychology and Health Psychology
• Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia: Study Sources
• The Issue of Chronic Sleep Deprivation
• Face Recognition and Memory Retention
• Environmental Psychology and Orientation
• Introduction to Clinical Psychology
• Psychological Testing Issues
• Boundary Issue in Professional Psychology

Psychosocial Correlates of Insomnia Among College Students

ORIGINAL RESEARCH — Volume 19 — September 15, 2022

Yves Paul Vincent Mbous, MEng, BSc Hons, BSc 1 ; Mona Nili, PhD, PharmD, MS, MBA 1 ; Rowida Mohamed, MSc, BPharm 1 ; Nilanjana Dwibedi, PhD, MBA, BPharm 1 ( View author affiliations )

Suggested citation for this article: Mbous YPV, Nili M, Mohamed R, Dwibedi N. Psychosocial Correlates of Insomnia Among College Students. Prev Chronic Dis 2022;19:220060. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd19.220060 .

PEER REVIEWED

Introduction

Acknowledgments, author information.

What is already known on this topic?

Despite the well-known prevalence of insomnia among college students, its association with mental health remains a topic of considerable interest, particularly among this vulnerable population constantly adapting to the demands of the academic world.

What is added by this report?

We show that at least a quarter of college students experience insomnia, and we uncover its predominant association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression.

What are the implications for public health practice?

The implications demand a serious consideration of mental health during attempts to improve students’ sleep quality.

Among college students, insomnia remains a topic of research focus, especially as it pertains to its correlates and the extent of its association with mental conditions. This study aimed to shed light on the chief predictors of insomnia among college students.

A cross-sectional survey on a convenience sample of college students (aged ≥18 years) at 2 large midwestern universities was conducted from March 18 through August 23, 2019. All participants were administered validated screening instruments used to screen for insomnia, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Insomnia correlates were identified by using multivariate logistic regression.

Overall, 26.4% of students experienced insomnia; 41.2% and 15.8% had depression and had ADHD symptoms, respectively. Students with depression (adjusted odds ratio, 9.54; 95% CI, 4.50–20.26) and students with ADHD (adjusted odds ratio, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.48–8.19) had significantly higher odds of insomnia. The odds of insomnia were also significantly higher among employed students (odds ratio, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.05–4.18).

This study showed an association between insomnia and mental health conditions among college students. Policy efforts should be directed toward primary and secondary prevention programs that enforce sleep education interventions, particularly among employed college students and those with mental illnesses.

The National Sleep Foundation and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society guidelines recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep for young adults (1). However, at least 60% of college students have poor quality sleep and garner, on average, 7 hours of sleep per night (2). Previous research showed that up to 75% of college students reported occasional sleep disturbances, while 15% reported overall poor sleep quality (3). In another work, among a sample of 191 undergraduate students, researchers found that 73% of students exhibited some form of sleep problem, with a higher frequency among women than men (4).

Direct consequences of poor sleep among college students include increased tension, irritability, depression, confusion, reduced life satisfaction, or poor academic performance (4). Evidence abounds of the positive correlation between academic failure, low grade point average, negative academic performance, and poor sleep quality patterns (5). As these complications arise early in the life of these students, they might develop into serious ailments as they grow older (high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke) and thereby create an even bigger public health problem. Because insomnia weakens physical and mental functions in addition to academic performances, reduced sleep quality could also lead to mental issues or vice versa (6).

Erratic schedules and lifestyle adjustments coupled with the strain of daily occupation are partly to blame for the general dissatisfaction with sleep quality and duration, because work obligations reduce hours of sleep among college students (2). However, in light of these consequences, it behooves the scientific community to identify modifiable factors associated with insomnia among college students that could help spur countermeasures or design lifestyle interventions to ameliorate the overall well-being of college students. In this study, we strived to identify environmental, mental, and behavioral factors affecting insomnia among college students. The intersection between behavioral factors and mental health is also evaluated in this work because physical activity, particularly, has been shown to mitigate insomnia (7). Because the relationship between insomnia and some of the understudied mental conditions could be bidirectional and given that cause-and-effect will not be established in this study, insomnia was labeled a criterion variable.

Study design, sampling, eligibility criteria

A cross-sectional design was used for this study. Convenience and snowball sampling strategy methods were used for sampling. West Virginia University and Marshall University students aged 18 years or older and able to read and write in English were eligible to participate. Study approval was acquired from the Institutional Review Board of West Virginia University. Consent for participation and anonymity were emphasized before the questionnaire’s distribution, along with instructions for completion. No incentives were provided for participants in this study.

Instruments and measures

Demographic characteristics included sex (male, female), age, race (White; All others, which included Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and any other racial group), marital status (married, not married), educational level (undergraduate, professional or graduate), employment status (employed, unemployed), physical activity (<2 d/wk, ≥2 d/wk), caffeine consumption (<6 cups/d, ≥6 cups/d, because previous research established a daily upper limit of 6 cups to maintain a healthy heart and blood pressure [8]), alcohol use (never, some days or every day), smoking status (yes, no), and the number of chronic non–mental health conditions (guided by the US Health and Human Services’ strategic framework [9], and included arthritis, asthma, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Crohn disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis).

The criterion variable in this study was a diagnosis of insomnia as assessed by the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The ISI uses 7 items to evaluate the severity of insomnia. The first 3 items assess severity of sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and early morning awakening problems, and the last 4 examine sleep satisfaction, sleep disturbance, sleep worry, and sleep interference in daily life (10). Each item is graded on a 0 to 4 Likert scale, and the total score is calculated as the sum of each item, yielding minimum and maximum values of 0 and 28, respectively. Total score categories are as follows: 0 to 7 = no clinically significant insomnia; 8 to 14 = subthreshold insomnia; 15 to 21 = clinical insomnia (moderate severity); 22 to 28 = clinical insomnia (severe). In this study, ISI scores were divided into 2 categories based on a cutoff point of 15: patients with clinically significant insomnia (cutoff point of 15 or more) and participants with no clinically significant insomnia (cutoff point less than 15). This threshold point was motivated by the validity of this scale as a primary care diagnostic tool at a cutoff score of 14 (11).

Instruments to screen for depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were used to evaluate mental health. For depression, we used the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a self-reported questionnaire that contains 9 items incorporating the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV criteria for probable major depressive disorder. Each item can be scored from 0 through 3, and total scores can vary from 0 to 27, with cutoff points of 5, 10, 15, and 20, corresponding respectively to diagnoses of mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depressive symptoms. Given the high correlation observed in the literature between the third item of the PHQ-9 (also assessing sleep disturbance) and various sleep scales (12,13), we removed this item before calculating the overall score. PHQ-9 scores were divided into 2 categories: participants with clinically significant depressive symptoms (cutoff point of 8 or more) and participants with no clinically significant depressive symptoms (cutoff point less than 8). This was dictated by the sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ-9 at this cutoff score as a satisfactory diagnostic tool for depression in primary and secondary care settings (14).

For ADHD, Part A of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) was used. Only Part A of the questionnaire contains the 6 predictive measures of ADHD symptom severity (15). Items use a Likert scale (never, rarely, sometimes, often, very often). For items 1 to 3, ratings of sometimes, often, or very often were assigned 1 point (ratings of never or rarely were assigned 0 points). For the remaining items, ratings of often or very often were assigned 1 point (ratings of never, rarely, or sometimes were assigned 0 points). A sum of scores of 4 or more indicated ADHD symptoms. Diagnosis of anxiety was established using an item that elicited from participants a recent diagnosis of anxiety or current medication regimen for anxiety. The criterion variable and predictors in this study were collected using a 3-part questionnaire, including demographics, insomnia screening, and mental health screening.

Survey procedure

The online survey was administered using the Qualtrics (Qualtrics) web-based survey tool. The invitation letter to participate in this survey was sent to participants through the listserve to students and social media outlets (Facebook and Twitter) from March 18 through August 23, 2019.

Data analysis

During the analysis, we omitted responses with half or more missing information (75 incomplete and missing responses were excluded from the final sample) from the criterion variable (insomnia) and predictors (ie, ADHD, anxiety, depression, chronic non–mental health conditions, employment status, sex, race and ethnicity, sex, education level, physical activity status, alcohol and caffeine consumption, and smoking). Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study participants. Cell sizes with fewer than 5 were conflated with the next immediate encompassing category. Significant differences in outcomes among predictive factors were determined by using independent t tests. Differences were labeled significant at an α level less than or equal to .05. Were used χ 2 tests of independence to compare the distribution of dependent categorical or nominal variables and the distribution in the criterion variable (for large cell sizes). Fisher tests were used for the same purpose, albeit for smaller cell sizes (~ n = 5). We did not apply any statistical adjustments (eg, Bonferroni adjustments) for multiple comparisons on the same sample out of concern for the substantial reduction in the statistical power of rejecting an incorrect Ho in each test (16).

Multivariable logistic regression models were built to model a relationship between predictors and insomnia. We included logistic regression models analyzing the interaction between different mental conditions and between physical activity and mental health (diagnosis of anxiety, depression, or ADHD). Model 1 regressed the dependent variable on all independent variables. Models 2 through 4 added 2-way interactions between mental conditions, namely anxiety, ADHD, and depression, respectively, and physical activity. From each of these models, odds ratios were derived. The analysis was conducted by using SPSS version 26 (IBM Corp).

Validity and reliability

To validate the use of the foregoing instruments in a college population, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated loading patterns consistent with the structure of the adopted scales. Our method of choice was principal component analysis with varimax rotation. The ISI was a unidimensional scale with factor loading ranging from 0.375 to 0.876. The unidimensional PHQ-9 factor loadings oscillated between 0.627 and 0.881. The ASRS, also unidimensional, had factor loadings ranging from 0.462 to 0.803. The reliability of the ISI, PHQ-9, and ASRS, as assessed using the Cronbach α (0.857, 0.909, 0.768, respectively), was excellent. The degree of concordance between the ISI and the nonsleep scales (divergent validity) was evaluated by using correlation coefficients. We found a weak to moderate magnitude of correlation ( r < 0.7), based on a widespread threshold from the literature (17).

A total of 330 responses were included in our analysis ( Table 1 ). The mean age of participants was 24.4 years old. Across the entire sample, most participants were women (67.0%), White (89.7%), not married (94.2%), undergraduate students (62.4%), and with no chronic non–mental health conditions (69.7%). Based on the screening questionnaires, the prevalences of anxiety, depression, ADHD, and insomnia were 28.5%, 41.2.%, 15.8%, and 26.4%, respectively.

Among the participants with insomnia, most were women (81.6%), White (83.9%), undergraduate students (65.5%), physically active on 2 or more days during the week (79.3%), consumed less than 6 cups of caffeine per day (88.5%), at least occasionally consumed alcohol (67.8%), were nonsmokers (93.1%), had no chronic conditions (58.6%), were not anxious constantly (63.2%), were depressed (78.2%), and had no symptoms of ADHD (62.1%). In general, participants without insomnia followed the same trend, except that most did not have depression (71.2%). Employment status in both groups (participants with and those without insomnia) was roughly similar. Sex, race, the number of chronic non–mental health conditions, depression, and ADHD symptoms were found to be significant correlates of insomnia ( Table 1 ).

Findings from models 2 and 4 were not significant. In model 3, the multiple logistic regression model indicated that psychosocial factors such as employment status, depression, and ADHD significantly increased the odds of insomnia ( Table 2 ). Employed students had 2.10 times higher odds of insomnia compared with unemployed students. In addition, the odds of insomnia were 9.54 and 3.48 times higher for students with depression and ADHD, respectively. Anxiety was not significantly associated with insomnia (adjusted odds ratio: 1.71, P = .13). Physical activity was a significant effect modifier in the association between ADHD and insomnia (adjusted odds ratio: 12.1, P = 0.012). The strength of the association between ADHD symptoms and insomnia was lower among students who exercised 2 or more days a week compared with those who exercised less.

In this study, we identified factors associated with insomnia among college students. ADHD, depression, and employment status were significantly associated with insomnia. We reported a 26.4% prevalence of insomnia among college students, a finding consistent with existing literature. A previous meta-analysis reported an overall insomnia prevalence of 18.5% (95% CI, 11.2%–28.8%) among university students; our estimate fell within this reported CI (6). Another study found that insomnia prevalence was 26.7% among university nursing students (18). Taylor and coworkers reported an insomnia prevalence of 9.5% among a cohort of 1,039 college students by using the ISI and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (19); their operational definition of chronic insomnia was established over 3 months as opposed to 1 month in our study. In our work, small cell sizes restricted the categorization of insomnia into moderate, mild, or severe. This explains the deviation of our results from those of past researchers that used the ISI systematic classification of different degrees of insomnia. For instance, Gress-Smith et al found that 47% of college students had mild insomnia and 22.5% had moderate to severe insomnia (20). In another ISI-based study, 12% of students endorsed a diagnosis of clinical insomnia, and 45% met the criteria for subclinical insomnia (21). All these intricacies cement our results within the current pool of research.

Our findings indicated that 78.2% of students with insomnia also experienced depression, and the odds of insomnia were 9.54 times higher among students with depression than students without depression. Olufsen et al reported a prevalence of depression among college students with insomnia of 30% to 38%, using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) (22). Another research concluded that depressive symptoms, assessed using criteria of the DSM-IV, were associated with increased insomnia complaints among college students (odds ratio, 1.09) (23). These findings lend credence to the bidirectional relationship between insomnia and depression. Thus, it is typical of patients with insomnia to exhibit psychological profiles (poor coping skills, poor health status, ruminative traits) that herald the onset of depression. Ubiquitous characteristics of insomnia, such as fatigue, irritability, and cognitive impairment, which are well-known derivatives of insomnia among students, exacerbate depressive symptoms (24).

In our sample, 15.8% had ADHD, and the odds of insomnia were 3.48 times higher for students with ADHD than those without ADHD. The prevalence of clinically significant cases of ADHD varies between 2% and 8% of the college student population (25). A previous study showed a similar ADHD prevalence to ours at ~19% (26). In the same study, the authors also reported that students with ADHD had a risk of insomnia 2.7 times greater than those without ADHD (26). These observations indicate the importance of examining symptom clusters that involve both sleep and mental and emotional components when investigating and treating insomnia, depression, or ADHD.

Physical activity mitigated the effect of mental health on insomnia. As regular physical activity helps improve sleep quality (7) and has psychological benefits (27), it was not surprising to find that among those with mental conditions, those who exercised more often (in this case, 2 or more days per week) seemed to have better sleep quality than those who exercised less. Students are often hesitant to seek help for mental health and insomnia concerns; therefore, interventions need to be youth-friendly, acceptable, feasible, and nonstigmatizing (28). Young people view physical activity as helpful in mitigating mental conditions as well as being nonstigmatizing (29). Although most university campuses offer physical activity–based wellness programs, research exploring students’ perceptions of on-campus physical activity initiatives as alternatives to mental health and insomnia management strategy is limited (30).

We found that employment was significantly associated with sleep problems among college students. Similarly, previous research has linked employment to insomnia. A meta-analysis found job demand to be negatively correlated with sleep quality, whereas job control was positively correlated (31). Students, most of whom held part-time jobs and thus had less job control yet high job demands, might understandably experience substantial sleep difficulties and reduced sleep quality in general. Also, the competing demands to complete academic requirements and maintain employment may also serve as structural barriers to adequate sleep.

Strengths and limitations

This study had several strengths. First, we evaluated factors susceptible to accompany a diagnosis of insomnia in a sample of college students. Further, we used established instruments that we validated psychometrically across a new population. However, this study had a few limitations. First, the data were collected from 2 universities, namely West Virginia and Marshall University, thus limiting the generalizability of the findings. Information on study majors was not collected, yet could have influenced the prevalence and the uncovered associations of insomnia and mental conditions. Further, we used a cross-sectional design and could only establish association, not causality. Finally, small cell sizes restricted the stratification of insomnia, which would have enriched our results.

Our results indicate that better mental health and insomnia must be addressed concomitantly as their association is not random. Addressing these issues entails better time management skills dedicated to studying, work, and leisure. Such skills should be at the fingertips of college students to help them cope with the increasing demands of university life. These findings should also be communicated to the employers of college students who in turn should prioritize the overall well-being of their employees. As a future direction for our work, we endeavor to measure health services utilization among students with mental conditions that tie directly to sleep quality; this, in a bid, to inform policy on the need to improve mental health services access for college students.

The burden of insomnia among college students is one that must be readily addressed as its spillover effects decrease substantial traits that are crucial for college life. Mental health, specifically depression and ADHD, and employment are salient contributors to the high levels of insomnia. Addressing these associations could help improve the experience and well-being of college students. Further, the promotion on campuses of healthy behaviors such as physical activity could yield significant improvements vis-à-vis the lifestyle of college students, as physical activity, in this study, has been shown to mitigate the effect of mental health on insomnia or vice versa.

The authors would like to thank Jason Kang, MD, MS, for his input during the conception of this study.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest, and the authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this article are included within the study. No financial support was received for this work. Permission to use the ASRS was obtained from Ronald C. Kessler.

Author contributions: conceptualization, all authors; data curation, Mr Mbous and Dr Nili; formal analysis, Mr Mbous, Dr Nili, and Ms Mohamed; investigation and methodology, all authors; project administration, Mr Mbous and Dr Nili; supervision, Dr Dwibedi; writing the original draft, Mr Mbous; writing review and editing, all authors.

Corresponding Author: Yves Paul Vincent Mbous, MEng, BSc Hons, BSc, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, PO Box 9510, Morgantown, WV 26506. Email: [email protected] .

Author Affiliations: 1 School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.

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Abbreviations: ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; NA, not applicable. a Data are number (percentage) unless otherwise specified. Numbers may not add to total because of missing data. b Independent t test. c Pearson χ 2 . d P value between .001 and <.01. e P value between .01 and <.05. f All other races included Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and any other racial group. g Fisher exact test. h P < .001.

a All other races included Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and any other racial group. b P value between .01 and <.05. c P < .001. d P value between .001 and <.01.

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• v.11(4); Jul-Aug 2018

Quality of Sleep and Depression in College Students: A Systematic Review

João dinis.

1 Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health - Porto - Porto - Portugal.

Miguel Bragança

Background:.

Nowadays, sleep-related problems are a prevalent occurrence among university students. Poor sleep quality is one of the most studied aspects of sleep complaints, affecting from 10% to 50% of this population. Poor sleep quality consequences are many and have a profound impact in the student's psychobiological health. University students live through a period of psychological challenge and adaptation, since the transition from high school to professional life. Abrupt autonomy challenges students to deal with many choices, from their academic and social life to their intimate habits. Frequently, sleep hygiene is neglected, or they are unable to use proper coping mechanisms, resulting in disturbing consequences that could impact their lives as adults. Research has found a significant association between sleep quality and depression or depressive symptoms, but this relationship is still somewhat difficult to interpret.

The objective of this review is to appraise the current knowledge around the relationship of sleep with depression in this group of young adults. Data Source: Articles included in Medline database.

After a careful search, the articles selected aimed mainly college students. The studies had sleep quality and depression objectively assessed, focused in the relationship between both, and addressed possible influencing factors.

The current literature still supports a bidirectional relationship between sleep and depression, however, the importance of sleep quality is becoming a very relevant variable.

Conclusion:

Education and the application of policies regarding sleep hygiene may prevent, in some cases, the development of depression and improve the quality of sleep in other cases. Future research should clarify the relationship between sleep problems and depression in a way they could be prevented or, at least, minimalized with effective and achievable interventions.

INTRODUCTION

When young adults go through university, they experience a period of psychological challenge and adaptation, since the transition from high school to professional life. The sudden autonomy challenges students with varying choices, from their academic and social life to their intimate habits. Frequently, some important dimensions of their lives are sacrificed, being sleep hygiene often neglected, and in the presence of frustration or life changes, they are unable to use proper coping mechanisms, resulting in problematic consequences that could impact their lives through academic life and as adults.

The occurrence of poor mental health among university students varies, but nonetheless the rates of depressive symptoms can go as high as 50% in some countries 1 . Along with this situation, the deterioration of good sleep habits may be contributing to the poor mental health seen in this population. Sleep quality, a measurement that is related to sleep hygiene, has been shown to be poor in this population in different countries, affecting in some cases around 50% of the students 1 - 3 . An accumulation of research shows that the relationship between disturbed sleep and depression is complex and bidirectional. As this relation is better understood, a dedicated intervention both on sleep quality and depression could prevent the emerging problem in the affected student populations, as well as serving as prevention in the post-graduated young adults.

The aim of this systematic review is therefore to appraise the current available literature that specifically probes this relation, focusing mainly which of the variables of depression, depression symptoms or poor sleep quality may contribute more to the problem. Additionally, this review also aims to appreciate some of the factors that can potentially interfere in this relation. Also understand how do sleep quality and depression impact this population, which instruments are being used to address this subject, what is the current situation in the understanding of the relationship of sleep quality and depression, and how this subject has been studied.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This review methodological approach has been based in PRISMA's guidelines, available at “prisma-statement.org/”. Pubmed was queried for all references from 1970 through July 22, 2017 for studies related to depression associated to sleep in college students or young adults. The search terms were the following: ((Sleep[MeSH Terms]) AND depression[MeSH Terms]) AND adults, young[MeSH Terms]), with 318 results; ((Sleep[MeSH Terms]) AND depression[MeSH Terms]) AND students[MeSH Terms] with 40 results; ((“sleep”[MeSH Terms]) AND depression[MeSH Terms]) AND students) with 75 results; ((Sleep[Title/Abstract]) AND Depression[Title/Abstract]) AND Students[Title/Abstract]) with 272 results; In a first phase selection, repeated articles were sorted out, and the remaining articles were selected by title, having as inclusion criteria the combination of the terms “sleep”, “sleep quality”, “depression”, “depressive symptoms”, “college”, “students”, “young adults”, “university”, ”population”.

In a second phase, the selected articles were individually read and submitted to the following criteria: 1) any type of article, excluding reviews, meta-analyses and editorial notes; 2) population attending college or young adults not attending to college or any specific education institution; 3) clear methodology and generally accepted data collection instruments, related to assess depression, depressive symptoms, sleep and sleep quality, coherent with the intervention; 4) the outcome would be associated with sleep, sleep quality, depression and depressive symptoms; 5) exclusion of any article in which the outcome would relate intentionally to insomnia or other sleep disturbances, other than affecting sleep quality.

The data retrieved from each article included the study type, the country, the population context, the methodology, the reported limitations, the outcomes regarding the instrument used. Also, data was retrieved concerning other factors the authors consider having influence in the main outcomes in each study.

From the initial search, 705 articles were selected. After the first phase selection, 66 were selected, which followed to be selected in the second phase selection, resulting in 32 articles which were included in the review ( Figure 1 ).

Flowchart of included articles.

From all articles, 13 were from North America (11 - USA; 1 Canada; 1 Mexico), 10 were from Asia (5- Japan; 3 China; 1 Thailand; 1 Nepal), 2 from Oceania (2- Australia), 2 from Europe (1- Austria; 1- Poland), 2 from Middle East (1- Turkey; 1- Lebanon), 2 from Africa (1- Nigeria; 1- Ethiopia) and 1 study regarding various geographic proveniences.

The study types included 22 cross-sectional studies, 7 longitudinal studies, 1 experimental study, 1 pilot study and 1 quasi-experimental study.

A great portion of the studies included a general college student population (26), although some were specific college schools (Medicine - 2; Nursery - 1; Arts - 1) and two studies included both college students and young adults.

Methodology applied

Regarding sleep and sleep quality the most used instrument used was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Score (PSQI), as one article used the PSQI associated with actigraphy. Regarding depression or depressive symptoms, the most used instrument was the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), 13 articles and the other articles used a variety of other scales. Table 1 summarizes the methodology applied.

Methodology Applied in the articles for collection of data regarding sleep, sleep quality, depression and depressive symptoms. Nº. S - Number of studies using the instrument; DS - Depressive symptoms; TMINLHI - Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience Life Habits Inventory; ASQSD - Auckland Sleep Questionnaire and Sleep Diaries; CES-D - Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; DASS-21 - Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale; BDI-II - Beck Depression Inventory; HADS - Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; PHQ-9 - Patient Health Questionnaire; MMPI-2 - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; SDS - Self-Rating Depression Score; WHO-5 - WHO-Five Well-being Index; * Three articles used a combination of scales, CES-D with DASS 21 or the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

The results in this systematic review reinforce the notion that there is a strong association between sleep quality, or sleep hygiene, and depression or depressive symptoms ( Table 2 ). The literature is not consensual of the direction of association, and some authors hypothesize there is a bidirectional association between sleep and depression 4 - 7 . In terms of cross-sectional studies, there is a greater number of those which support that poor sleep quality predicts depression or depressive symptoms. The other longitudinal studies pointed to a greater risk of depression, or greater presence of depressive symptoms when sleep problems were present 4 , 5 , 8 - 10 . A quasi-experimental study comparing two different types of interventions for improving sleep quality showed reduction in depressive symptoms in both interventions 11 . One experimental study established a model in which poor sleep quality was associated with greater difficulty disengaging attention from negative stimuli, which in turn predicted upsurges in depressive symptoms 12 . There is also evidence that poor sleep quality is associated with greater struggle disengaging attention from negative stimuli, which will increase depressive symptoms 12 .

SHQ Sleeps Habits Questionnaire; BDI-II Beck Depression Inventory; OR Odds Ration; SD Standard Deviation; PSQI Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Score; CES-D Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ; HAM-D3 Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; WHO-5 Self-Rating Depression Scale and the WHO-Five Well-being Index; TMIN-LHI Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience life habits inventory; SDS Self-Rating Depression Score; SF-36 Social Functioning 36; MMPI-2 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; DASS-21 Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS21); PHQ-9 Patient Health Questionnaire; HADS Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

In the perspective of depression, students who are depressed are less likely to use adaptive coping strategies, therefore may experience diminished sleep quality or greater sleep start time variability 10 , 19 . There is also evidence that as depression increases in severity, the odds ratio or risk of poor sleep quality also increase 1 , 15 . Episodic and chronic depression are both linked to sleep quality. Despite episodic depressive symptoms being significant predictors of sleep complications, chronic depressive symptoms are particularly greater predictors 4 . Interestingly one of the longitudinal studies, which studied the transition from high-school to college, found that pre-transition depressive symptoms were associated with subsequent post-transition subjective and objective sleep problems, but not the reverse. However post-transition depressive symptoms were concurrently associated with greater sleep problems 8 . In an interesting opposite view, in the point of view from optimism, one longitudinal study found that optimism is a predictor of sleep quality 31 .

Regarding the studies' overall results, it's plausible to affirm that in the presence of a bidirectional relationship, self-reported sleep quality is being shown to be more consistent as a predictor of depression or depressive symptoms, despite depression itself also constitutes a predictor of sleep quality.

Factors influencing sleep quality and depression

Females have been found to have higher risk of poor sleep quality, which may be associated by the gender-based differences in the biology of sleep 26 or contact to socio-economic pressures and cultural norms, reaction, and coping mechanisms to life stresses, in addition to biological factors 27 . Interestingly one study revealed that poor sleep quality is related to depressive symptoms in males, but stress in females 19 . Existing studies do not deliver information on whether gender difference remains significant after concurrently considering the impact of other socio-demographic, lifestyle factors, and affective disorders. The gender difference in sleep problems is mostly attributed to the physiologic differences, the importance of affective disorders and socioeconomic inequalities, indicating these may be the pathway variables through which gender disparity in poor sleep is displayed 26 .

Genetic Factors

A longitudinal study found that individuals carrying 2 alleles with the low-polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR reported more depressive mood in the presence of a persistent pattern of short nocturnal sleep. Thus, exposure to chronic levels of insufficient or disrupted sleep may manifest a preexisting vulnerability in genetically susceptible individuals 5 . Other longitudinal study found that the number of G alleles in rs11932595, from the CLOCK gene, is positively associated with self-reported sleep quality, suggesting that polymorphisms within this gene may be considered a factor 12 .

Year of study and College

Some authors found that increasing year of study in university or college predicted good sleep quality. It indicates that students in later years may have developed better coping strategies for their academic life 1 , 21 , 29 . There is also evidence that poor sleep quality and depression is common among medical students 32 . Thus the demands over specific students in different schools may also contribute to influence the first.

Use of technology

With the recent technological advancement, a new factor may have appeared as a potential influencer in the relationship between sleep and depression. This is evident when studies prior to the technological boom of electronic devices didn't account this variable 33 , 34 . Some authors found that waking up to answer one's phone predicted lower sleep quality, which in turn predicted depression 18 . In another study, depression acted as a mediator between smartphone overuse and poor sleep quality. The mechanisms behind this phenomenon may be due to probably affecting sleep architecture, alteration of melatonin release by influence of bright light, displacement of sleep, influence of electromagnetic fields emitted from the devices on brain activity, physical discomfort during its usage or because of cognitive, emotional or physiological arousal 22 .

As individuals may be classified as either morning-types, intermediate types or evening-types, some studies report that circadian preferences may have an important role in the connection between sleep and depression 10 , 31 , 32 . The literature reveals mixed results concerning this factor. Several studies settle that an evening chronotype is linked to poor sleep quality among young adults and college students 32 . Some authors support that the prevalence of depressive symptoms was significantly higher among students with a late bedtime and prolonged sleep-onset latency 20 , 29 . One longitudinal study suggests that morning-type chronotype has a protective effect against the potential harm of poor sleep on optimism, yet not against the damage of pessimism on sleep quality 31 . However, one study found that 40% of evening-types were classified as having good sleep characteristics and did not generally differ on the sleep characteristics relative to most of morning-types, who reported good sleep. The authors propose that perceived morningness-eveningness may not account to influence sleep quality 10 .

Regarding weekend, one study suggests that students tend to maintain similar sleep wake patterns across the week and weekend 10 . However, other study reported that students sleep significantly longer in weekends, mainly females 27 .

Sleep Quantity

The mechanisms underlying the association between bedtime and depression remain unknown as some authors haven't found a consistent relation between sleep duration and depression 29 . However, some authors support that short sleep duration is associated with increased depressive symptoms in a U-shaped relationship20. Despite these contradictory results, some authors found that there are significant improvements in several sleep patterns across the transition from high-school to college: increases in sleep efficiency, sleep minutes, and subjective sleep quality after this transition 23 .

Studies Limitations

Regarding the cross-sectional studies, the studies were limited mainly by their nature. In this case, causality is impossible to be established 7 . As the questionnaires used were mostly self-reported, being a subjective measure, recall bias must be accounted. Confirmation of these results using objective measurements, such as actigraphy monitoring throughout the day, would be desirable 8 , 20 .

In the case of longitudinal studies which used actigraphy, sample size is one of the most significant limitations. The validity of the usage of this instrument is yet to be determined 12 .

The students who were able to participate in these studies were expected to maintain a healthy lifestyle and relatively good mental health. Consequently, the students who could not participate in the studies might be likely to have more severe problem and become socially withdrawn with problems such as sickness and absenteeism in the future. Such high-risk students should have been included in the studies 20 .

Other compensatory sleep habits haven't been accounted for, such as napping or nodding in the classroom 20 . Also, the weekend period was only considered in two of the studies 10 , 27 , which may have an important role in the characteristics in the subject's sleep phase 21 .

The presence of mental health problems and poor sleep quality was assessed by standardized clinical questionnaires. However, these measures are not equivalent to clinical diagnoses 35 , and these instruments have their own limitations. For example, PSQI may underestimate the outcomes of sleep quality 26 and both CES-D and DASS-21 instruments measure short- term depressive mood, therefore the outcome may not reproduce long-term associations that would result in clinical depression 6 .

LIMITATIONS

This systematic review has its own limitations. First, it only used one search engine and only searched for studies written in English. It is possible that a great quantity of relevant articles has been missed out and its results could bring a different perspective. Second, the focus on depression and sleep is not totally realistic, since depression and sleep quality are influenced by many other variants such as stress, anxiety or physical health, which in term may have an important role in their relationship 16 , 35 - 37 . This indicates that the relationship between sleep and depression is a complex phenomenon and its approach by simplifying the variables may not represent the reality of the problem. Third, this review focused in a very specific population with habits and pressures that may not be seen in the general population, thus the variables may be influenced by other mechanisms not applied to college students. For example, university students have later sleep and wake times, higher rates of daytime sleepiness, and physical and mental health complaints, than the general population 37 . Fourth, the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors was not deeply explored in this review as it includes studies from developed and under development countries.

It is becoming consistent that self-reported low sleep quality is a predictor of depression or depressive symptoms, at least regarding the young adults that attend universities and colleges. However, it is important to acknowledge that sleep disturbances and depression have a bidirectional association, so depression also influences sleep, as a recent meta-analysis on older adults found 38 . Defended by many of the authors, and demonstrated by an experimental study, an intervention in sleep hygiene can have benefic effects on reducing depression among the students. The institutions should recognize the importance of sleep hygiene and educate its population of its consequences, having in consideration that this population is probably unaware of this problem and it's late night culture.

As the understanding of the complexity of sleep is becoming clearer, also pragmatic interventions should result from its study. In this direction, some research has already been conducted, demonstrating that cognitive behavioral self-help programs can improve sleep and depressive symptoms 11 . The research on this field still has its challenges concerning the measurements. However, with the uprising in the miniaturization of technology, the actigraphy may become cheaper and easy to use and so giving the possibility of a profound study, among others, of the sleep habits in the human populations.

Finally, there is a lack of evidence in how the different grades of depression affect sleep quality and vice versa. This could possibly demonstrate if sleep affects the progression of depression's severity, if there is a correlation between the worsening of the quality of sleep and depression stage, or how different types of depression relate to sleep.

None of the authors had any direct or indirect funding in support of this study.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Essay on Sleep Deprivation and College Students

This paper highlights and discusses the effects of sleep deprivation among college students. The paper adopts an argumentative approach aimed at proving that sleep deprivation is more harmful than beneficial to students. Some of the negative effects of insufficient sleep include poor academic performance, physical dysfunction, and poor cognitive performance.

Sleep Deprivation and College Students

College experience has a significant value in equipping students with a structured environment that promotes them with the ability to effectively develop their knowledge and talents. The experience is accompanied by a cost and a strong commitment from the students. Consequently, some students spend most of their time studying. The outcome has been sleep deprivation among the college students. Those who forego sleep to do their studies view this as the ideal strategy for becoming successful in their academic studies. Moreover, some students do it to fulfill their social expectations especially those who are also working. This paper seeks to show that the negative effects associated with sleep deprivation among college students far outweigh the potential benefits.

Total and partial sleep deprivation among college students results in adverse changes in the cognitive performance of an individual (Patrick et al., 2017). A well-functioning brain controls a number of voluntary and involuntary actions. These actions include perception, mood, and emotion. Research has shown that sleep deprivation affects brain functioning and ends up lowering a student’s attention and his or her working memory. In some cases, sleep deprived students are overly emotional and depressed. It has also been proved that insufficient sleep adversely affects the decision-making process of an individual (Besoro, 2018). Additionally, inadequate sleep can cause irritability, stress, and depression among the affected persons. College students who experience partial sleep deprivation find it hard to give attention to details and are less vigilant. These students are more prone to stress than the ones who get enough sleep.

One of the most devastating effects of inadequate sleep among college students is a decline in their academic performance (Hershner & Chervin, 2014). Total sleep deprivation leads to a decrease in the ability of the students to recognize assumptions and deductions which are required for enhanced academic performance. A person’s memory requires an orderly succession of sleep stages. Unfortunately, this is not achieved by the sleep-deprived college students. Studies have shown that procedural memory of a person is dependent on his or her rapid eye movement and declarative memory (Hershner & Chervin, 2014). The two types of memory dictate a student’s ability to learn. Literature suggests that engaging in all-night study sessions negatively affects the procedural memory and it is a wrong plan for improved student grades and learning.

Sleep deprivation plays a significant role towards physical dysfunction among college students. The importance of physical function is appreciable especially in the student population of who play sports at least once a week. Without enough sleep, bodily functions such as metabolism, protein repair, and bacterial combating cannot take place effectively (Bianchi, 2014). As a result, there is a decrease in the overall production of the energy needed for a healthy lifestyle which includes physical exercises. There is a link between some of the minor common aches and pains that people feel and the amount of sleep that they get. This is most common among college students who often do not get enough sleep at night.

Some college students who prefer sleep deprivation argue that it has its own benefits. They go to sleep late and wake up early for classes or employment before adequate sleep is obtained (Tesoro, n.d.). Most of them argue that sleep deprivation is necessary for them to attain good grades since they use their sleeping time to do their studies and complete their work. To them, work and grades are more important than sleep. These students need to understand that sleep deprivation tends to do more harm than good to their jobs and academic lives (Zeek et al., 2015). To the working students, insufficient sleep contributes to increased heart rate, blood pressure, and sympathetic excitation. Additionally, there has been a growing body of observation evidence suggesting the possibility of a link between insufficient sleep and increased risk of obesity. Losing out on sleep creates a vicious cycle in the student’s body making it more prone to various factors contributing to weight gain.

The society considers student grades as being essential. For them to emerge as the best and maintain competency in the job environment, they feel that the more time they spend on studies, the more they will achieve in future(Khattab, 2015). Such students argue that there is a need to sacrifice sleep to meet societal expectations. The society should understand that lack of sleep weakens the student’s immune system and impairs their behavioral performance. Diseases and illnesses caused by sleep deprivation severely affect a student’s education.

Lack of sufficient sleep among college students contributes to poor academic performance and hampers their cognitive performance. There has been compelling evidence that insufficient sleep results in physical dysfunction among students. Additionally, scholars argue that some body aches and pains occur as a result of sleep deprivation. In some cases, lack of enough sleep leads to increased heart rate and blood pressure. Going by the evidence from various scholars and researchers concerning the adverse effects of sleep deprivation, it would be fair to conclude that sleep deprivation does more harm than good to students.

Besoro, E. (2018).  The perceived effects of lack of sleep on the academic performance .  Academia.edu . Retrieved March 12, 2018 from  http://www.academia.edu/31446912/CHAPTER_1_GROUP_7_REVISED

Bianchi, M. (2014). Sleep deprivation and disease: Effects on the body, brain and behavior (1st Ed.). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Hershner, S., & Chervin, R. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students.  Nature and Science of Sleep , (6), 73–84.

Khattab, N. (2015). Students’ aspirations, expectations and school achievement: what really matters?  British Educational Research Journal ,  41 (5), 731-748.

Patrick, Y., Lee, A., Raha, O., Pillai, K., Gupta, S., & Sethi, S. et al. (2017). Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive and physical performance in university students.  Sleep and Biological Rhythms ,  15 (3), 217-225.

Tesoro, A. (n.d.).  The effects of sleep deprivation on academic performance .  Web.csulb.edu . Retrieved March 11, 2018 from  http://web.csulb.edu/~atesoro/effects_of_sleep.pdf

Zeek, M., Savoie, M., Song, M., Kennemur, L., Qian, J., Jungnickel, P., & Westrick, S. (2015). Sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists.  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education ,  79 (5), 63.

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Sleep Deprivation and College Students essay

SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND COLLEGE STUDENTS

SleepDeprivation and College Students

[Nameof the Student]

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[Nameof the University]

Sleep deprivation is very common among college students because ofthe overload of their activities. Studying for examinations, outingand partying with peers, stresses owing to family and relationshiprelated complications etc. are the most common reasons why collegestudents are sleep deprived. Studies show that we need at least 7 to8 hours of sleep per day and the physical and cognitive performancehas already been associated with sleep deprivation (Parker, 2008).This is even truer for college students. Sleep deprivation negativelyimpacts their safety, health and emotional wellbeing, and mostimportantly their GPA. Therefore, this essay will talk about theoutcomes of sleep deprivation and how it linked to the academicperformance of college students. Moreover, the essay will discuss theimportance of sleep in enhancing students’ memory and learning, thephysical and mental health issues related to sleep deprivation andfinally, the essay will suggest when college students should getprofessional help regarding their sleep deprivation.

Sleep loss is associated with myriad of emotional and physicalissues. According to Lund, Reider, Whiting, &amp Prichard (2010),health risks due to sleep deprivation include- a weak immune systemthat leads to frequent sickness, more fatigue and stress, weightgain, lowered academic performance and GPA, diminished athleticperformance in students, more automobile accidents because of ‘drowsydriving’, lower cognitive abilities and loss of coordination, andincreased anxiety and depression. In this regard, Hershner (2015)mentioned that, “College students are often at risk for havingmental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and researchersbelieve that lack of sleep is a factor” (p. 14). According to theauthor, sleep loss leads to depression, anxiety and stress. Inaddition, this also negatively impacts the students’ relationshipswith other people. Robbins (2015) stated that, lack of sleep can evenlead to death, but most people are unaware of this risk. As mentionedabove, sleep deprivation weakens the immune system. As a result, thebody’s capability of protecting us from infections decreaseseventually and consequently, we keep on suffering from more illness.It also affects the lung and heart function adversely, which amountsto hypertension (high blood pressure), and chronic heart and lungdisease. All these mental and physical health issues due to sleeploss can actually affect the academic performance of collegestudents.

Getting enough sleep is very important in enhancing students’memory and learning. In his book, Parker (2008) suggested that, whenwe sleep, our brain stores, sorts and organizes everything we haveexperienced and learned all through the day, thereby, enabling us toremember those things better at a later time. Proper sleep alsoassists our brain to get rid of data and information that are notrelevant. Therefore, making better connections between informationand memory becomes a lot easier for us. This is very important forcollege students because they have to study hard and then memorizeand recall those things during their tests. As sleep enhances anddevelops recalling abilities, so getting enough sleep is very crucialfor college students. As a result, the author suggests students tostudy for at least 2 to 3 hours per day and use sleep as a naturalprocess of gaining a better comprehension of the things studiedthroughout the day and retain those information in the brain in aneffective way. Consequently, Parker (2008) further suggested studentsnot to be stressed over their examinations or any study relatedproblems. Rather, they should sleep on it.

Robbins (2015) thinks that, college students should seekprofessional help (from a clinician or a psychiatrist) immediately ifthey experience any of the following symptoms- not being able tosleep even after trying hard and frequently waking up during sleepfor a period of 2-3 weeks, falling asleep at the wrong times evenafter getting enough sleep at night, sleep walking, havingnightmares, having night terrors (the state of waking up with aterrible feeling but not being able to recollect the dream), havingmorning headaches and easily falling asleep during the day, andabruptly waking up from sleep due to breathlessness. If collegestudents experience any one of these symptoms for a prolonged periodof time then they should consult an expert as soon as possible.

The paper laid out the detrimental health and emotional effects ofsleep deprivation among college students, how getting enough sleephelps them improve their academic and personal life and when theyshould get professional help if their sleep deprivation gets out ofhand. Sleep loss leads to several health and emotional disorders.However, getting enough sleep helps college students manage theiracademic stress better and learn things more effectively and quickly,which leads to better academic performance. And finally, collegestudents should not take sleep deprivation lightly. They should takeprofessional help if they face any complications related to sleeploss. Therefore, further research should be conducted on how collegestudents can avoid sleep deprivation.

Annotated Reference List

Baltz, J. (2016).&nbsp Is Sleep DeprivationThe New College Norm? .&nbsp The Huffington Post . Retrieved4 June 2016, fromhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacqueline-baltz/sleep-deprivation-the-norm-college_b_9586402.html

This article pointed out the common reasons ofsleep deprivation among college students.

Hershner, S. (2015). Is sleep a luxury thatcollege students cannot afford?.&nbsp Sleep Health ,&nbsp 1 (1),13-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.006

The article discussed the emotional healthissues related to sleep loss.

Lund, H., Reider, B., Whiting, A., &ampPrichard, J. (2010). Sleep Patterns and Predictors of Disturbed Sleepin a Large Population of College Students.&nbsp Journal OfAdolescent Health ,&nbsp 46 (2), 124-132.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.06.016

The health risks associated with sleepdeprivation were mentioned in this article.

Parker, G. (2008).&nbsp Sleep deprivationand college students .

Parker’s book advices students how they canimprove their academic performance by getting enough sleep.

Robbins, R. (2015). Social conversation and itsrelationship to sleep behavior among college students.&nbsp SleepHealth ,&nbsp 1 (4), 304-310.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2015.09.012

Robbins’ article talked about when studentsshould get help from professionals if they face different sleepdeprivation related complications for several weeks.